Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Coven. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Coven - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my lease in Coven. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Coven.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Coven both have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Coven. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Coven what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Coven. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Coven Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees benefit from control and although a managing agent is often employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Is the freehold owned jointly by the tenants? Please note if it is no more than 80 years it will affect the salability of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have been the owner of the property for two years in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Coven